Chinese authorities have violently dispersed a peaceful protest by hundreds of depositors, who sought in vain to demand their life savings back from banks that have run into a deepening cash crisis.

Since April, four rural banks in China's central Henan province have frozen millions of dollars worth of deposits, threatening the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of customers in an economy already battered by draconian Covid lockdowns, CNN reported.

Depositors have staged several demonstrations in the city of Zhengzhou, the provincial capital of Henan, over the past two months, but their demands have invariably fallen on deaf ears.

On Sunday, more than 1,000 depositors from across China gathered outside the Zhengzhou branch of the country's central bank, the People's Bank of China, to launch their largest protest yet, more than half a dozen protesters told CNN.

The demonstrators were reportedly among thousands of people who opened accounts at six rural banks in Henan and the nearby province of Anhui that provided higher interest rates.

Following media reports that the CEO of the bank's parent firm was absconding and wanted for financial crimes, the people subsequently discovered they were unable to withdraw their money.

"We came to get our savings back, because I have elderly people and children at home. But the inability to withdraw savings has seriously affected my life,' said Zhang, a resident of Shandong province, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

According to the report, the demonstrators gathered early on Sunday in front of the People's Bank of China building in Zhengzhou. However, the street leading to the site was blocked by the local police by 8 am.

Besides uniformed police, there were teams of men in plain T-shirts. A banking regulator and a local government official arrived, but their attempts to talk to the crowd were shouted down.

Zhang and another protester, a man from Beijing surnamed Yang, told the Associated Press the protesters had heard from the officials before and don't believe what they say. Yang declined to be identified by his full name, fearing pressure from authorities.

Image courtesy: AP/Yang